Most recent Mets trade with each of their 4 division rivals

Mets most recent trade with the Phillies was on July 29, 2019, when they sent Jason Vargas there

There was a huge gap between trades between the Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. After making two different deals in July of 2001, these two rivals wouldn’t make another swap until exactly 17 years after Adam Walker and Bruce Chen were traded for Dennis Cook and Turk Wendell.

In mid-2018, the Mets would end up sending Asdrubal Cabrera and Jose Bautista to Philadelphia in separate trades. However, they would strike one more deal a year later. On July 29, 2019, Jason Vargas was traded to the Phillies.

Mets fans remember Vargas for two main things. One was how much he’d implode on the mound. The other was when he challenged Newsday’s Tim Healey to a fight after a loss to the Chicago Cubs. Vargas was nobody’s favorite Mets player and with the addition of Marcus Stroman to their roster in 2019, they thought it was fine to trade him to Philly for minor leaguer Austin Bossart.

Vargas was worse in Philadelphia than he was with the Mets that year. In 11 starts, he was 1-4 with a 5.37 ERA compared to the 6-5 with a 4.01 ERA performance he gave the Mets. Although the Mets didn’t get Bossart beyond Double-A, Vargas worked well as a Trojan Horse for the Phillies.